Shadows
by RTdances
Summary: When Mara finds a new, possibly powerful demigod named Gretchen, she must bring her to camp. They embark on many adventures together. Takes place after TLO.
1. Was it just a dream?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of it's characters.**

Chapter 1: Gretchen's POV

I was standing in a grand throne room. It would have been beautiful except for the constant reminders of the dead. A woman was sitting on a gorgeous throne of flowers. She had an impatient look on her face, but still was beautiful. She had long black hair and a light gown that appeared to be made of many changing flowers. She had a bright glow about her. She looked up as a man entered. He was pale, with dark sweeping robes covered with the terrified, tortured faces of the dead. He had an annoyed look on his face, like he'd rather be doing something more pleasant. His hair was an oily black mass and strangely familiar black eyes peered into the darkness behind me.

"Step forward," he commanded. I didn't move a muscle but someone else did. A boy, about two or three years older than me stepped out of the shadows. He had short, black hair that looked like it was normally spiked but had deflated because of lack of grooming for a few weeks. He had dark bags under his eyes like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Cuts and bruises covered his face and arms and his jeans and orange t-shirt were tattered and worn.

"We have much to discuss, but first, would you like something to eat? Drink? You must be hungry after all this traveling and fighting." As the man spoke, ladies with sunken in holes for eyes and papery, transparent skin glided out of the shadows with platters of delicious looking food and drinks. I had a bad feeling about it, though. I wanted to shout out a warning to the boy not to eat it but I couldn't speak. The boy grabbed a delicious looking pomegranate and began to eat.

I waited in anticipation for something to happen. The boy to start choking or hopping around sprouting warts or _something. _ All that happened was the dark man smiled cruelly and once again I wondered why his eyes were so familiar.

I woke with a start to find myself safe, in my room with a warm summer breeze blowing in from my open window. I sat up and looked in my mirror beside my bed. I gasped. I realized why his eyes were so familiar. They were mine.


	2. Another selfish parent

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of it's characters.**

Chapter 2: Mara's POV

I was standing in an alleyway between two downtown houses. Every time I moved a loud clinking came from my magic backpack where I had stored my armor, sword, and other necessary items. I glanced up at the bright sun as Apollo rode it across the sky. I walked up to the edge of the alley and glanced around. How did I end up here? I asked myself.

I heard the sound of a door opening and closing and a girl with long black hair and dark eyes with a gleam of something like a madman or a genius. She was wearing shorts and a black t-shirt. She looked like she had just woken up from a bad dream. She looked up and noticed me standing there.

"Who are you?" she asked me. She looked nervous, yet curious.

"I'm Mara," I replied. Then something clicked in my brain and I remembered a dream I had had a few nights ago. The girl in the dream had looked just like her. What was her name? Gretchen. "You're Gretchen."

She regarded me, surprised yet suspicious. She was definitely a demigod, but I got the feeling she didn't know it.

"How do you know me?" Gretchen asked.

"I'll explain later. Can I talk to your parent?"

"No. Tell me how you knew my name first," she said forcefully.

"You wouldn't believe me," I told her.

"I don't care! Tell me," she demanded.

"Alright, I saw you in a dream. Can I talk to your parent?" I replied with haste. I got the feeling she was powerful. I had to talk to her mom or dad and get her to camp.

"Um yeah, I guess," she sounded uncertain. Gretchen led me inside and called for her mom. Her mom appeared from the hall, holding a rag.

"Mom, this is, uh, Mara," she said. "She wanted to talk to you."

Just then she saw my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and something in her expression changed.

"Oh yes, why don't you come into the kitchen," she said and led us down the hall the way she came. Gretchen sat down at the table but I stayed standing next to Gretchen's mom.

"Does she know?" I asked so Gretchen wouldn't hear. Gretchen was looking at us suspiciously.

"No," she replied. Something in her voice sounded pained.

"You know you wouldn't be able to hide this from her forever," I told her.

"Yes," she sighed. "I didn't want her to go because she couldn't come back."

I didn't say anything because I knew this could very well be true.

"She needs to come to camp. It's her best chance for survival," I said. "I can take her. I can explain it all to her."


	3. This must be a hallucination

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of it's characters.**

Chapter 3: Gretchen's POV

I stared at my mom talking to that weird girl, Mara. I was nervous. What were the talking about? I got the feeling I was part of it. They kept looking at me. Just then something outside the window caught my eye. I looked but didn't see anything. Probably just a bird. I looked back at my mom and Mara. They weren't saying anything but they were both looking at me.

"What?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Honey, go pack a bag. You're going to camp," my mom said, a little somberly.

"What? Camp? I want to stay here!" I said, outraged.

"I'm sorry honey. You have to. You'll understand soon enough," she said softly.

"I want to understand now!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry but you can't know yet. It's not safe," she said it like my life depended on it.

"I won't go unless you tell me!" I said, desperate.

"Honey, get your bag," she said softly. Her voice wavered like if I kept fighting she would cry. I trudged off to my room and dug around for a bag and some things to bring. I finally came down with a bulging bag because I wasn't sure what I would need. Mara and my mom stopped abruptly, looking at me. I had a feeling they were talking about me. I threw myself down on a chair and waited, my arms crossed tight over my chest.

"Alright, you better get going," my mom said.

"Where is this camp anyways?" I asked.

"Long Island," Mara said. I was irritated at her. She had brought all this after all. She smiled a little sadly like she knew what I was thinking.

"It would have happened anyways," she said. I ignored her. I was too angry to bother with her.

"I'm sorry I can't come with you," my mom said. We didn't have a car so she couldn't drive me. "Take a bus to New York and a cab to Long Island. I think Mara knows were to go. Remember I love you, okay? Be safe."

"Yeah, mom," I said, a little embarrassed. She kissed me and gave me some money. Mara and I walked out the door and around the corner towards the alley where I first saw her.

Suddenly, something jumped out of the alley. It was huge with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake for a tail. Its nostrils appeared to smoke. An old lady was standing in the alley watching the beast. She had scaly, green skin and the pupils were almost reptilian, sideways slits. When she smiled I could see that her teeth were fangs and she had a forked tongue.

"Alright sonny, if you must," she said. Wait, _sonny_?

"A chimera! _Di immortales_, get behind me Gretchen!" Mara shouted. Now I was really confused. A chimera?

Mara slung off her backpack, dug around with much clanking, and pulled out a sword. How would a sword fit in that tiny backpack! I must be hallucinating. Mara swung the sword and attacked the beast. She seemed to be doing well, until the thing started breathing fire. I backed up, shocked. Mara started backing up, out of the line of fire. The monster seemed to think he'd won and let down his guard. Then, suddenly, Mara jumped to the side and slashed. The monster disappeared in an explosion of dust leaving a sulfurous smell. The weird old lady screamed a cry of sorrow and disappeared.

"Woah, what was that?" I exclaimed.

"Echidna and her son, the Chimera," Mara told me, looking around like she was expecting something else to attack us.

"Who's Echidna? And that Chimera was her _son_?" I asked, completely astonished.

"Echidna is the mother of all monsters," she said, glancing around nervously. "Now let's talk about something else before we make another monster attack us."

I decided I must be having some severe hallucination. The rest of this trip should be interesting.


	4. A long ride to Long Island

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of it's characters.**

Chapter 4: Mara's POV 

Of course. I guess it's kind of tradition to get attacked by a monster as you try to bring a new half-blood to camp.

I looked over at Gretchen. She had a weird look on her face, like she was concentrating yet with an awkward smile.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Yupp, I've decided this is all a hallucination," she said.

"Have you?" I muttered. It was better to let her pretend, for now. It was safer to explain at camp.

We found a bus station and waited for the bus to take us to Manhattan. I was really nervous and jumpy, constantly looking around. We finally got on the bus and took seats up front in case we had to get off suddenly. I looked at all the passengers as they came on. The whole ride I stared out the window, looking for trouble. My nerves were shot.

We got off the bus and caught a cab to Long Island. As we passed by the Empire State Building I made a silent prayer to the gods. _Please let me get her to camp safely. _I promised myself I would throw extra food on the brazier if we made it. We got out of the cab at the base of Half-Blood Hill.

"Thank the gods," I said under my breath.

"Come on up this hill," I told Gretchen. We almost made it to the top, too.


	5. I didn't know dogs came that big

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of it's characters.**

Chapter 5: Gretchen's POV

We were hiking up a hill with a pine tree on top when something jumped out of the shadows, like it had just appeared there. It leaped on me and I screamed as it bowled me over. It was a huge, black mastiff the size of a tank. I'm not kidding, it was actually that huge.

The beast stood over me as Mara tried to distract him. It worked, though the monster stepped on me in the process. I heard a crack and felt a sharp pain in my ribs. I cried out and almost fainted.

My sight was blurry and I kept missing pieces of what was happening because I was fighting to stay conscious. Mara was about to slash the mastiff to dust when he jumped over her. Mara was taunting him to come closer, away from me. She was in close, ready to strike when the monster lashed out and Mara went flying in the air and landed 50 feet away. A boy with shaggy black hair rushed in from the other side of the hill and slashed the beast into dust.

I finally gave up the fight and blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a comfortable bed in a large, plain room. I tried to sit up but someone stopped me.

"Hey, you've got two broken ribs and you're still mending. _Stay,_" a girl said, laughing. I turned my head. It was Mara!

"You…okay?" I managed to ask, remembering the huge mastiff hurtling her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a smile.

"Who…killed it?" I asked.

"Oh that was Percy. Percy Jackson," she told me. I sat for a minute, remembering him slaying the monster.

"What…was it?" I asked.

"A hellhound," she said.

"Oh," I managed. Then I fell back asleep.

When I woke up again, I was in the same room. I sat up and no one pushed me back down again.

"Hey, you're up," I heard a familiar voice say. "Here, drink this."

Mara handed me an iced drink with a straw. I was parched. I took a huge sip. Whoa. It tasted like strawberries and my favorite French silk pie. It sounds gross, but it actually tasted even better together. I took a better look at my glass. It looked just like apple juice. Weird. When I finished, I felt a lot better. I looked over at Mara.

"Good, you're done," she said. "There are some people you should meet."


	6. This is not your typical summer camp

**This one's kind of long (compared to my other chapters). It's basically review of what we know from the books but I had to add it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of it's characters.**

Chapter 6: Gretchen's POV

Mara led me out of my room, down a hallway, and into a new room, with a man in a wheelchair and a slightly chubby man sitting at a table playing cards. The man in the wheelchair had brown hair and a beard. He had a blanket over his legs. The other man was wearing a leopard print, Hawaiian style shirt and purple jogging pants and sneakers, though I doubted he actually jogged. He looked like an aged cherub in a way. Then I noticed that there were two sets of cards floating in the air, like they belonged to invisible players. I blinked, convinced I was imagining them, but the cards were still there.

"Hello Gretchen, my name is Chiron, trainer of heroes," said the man in the wheelchair. "This is Mr. D."

"Great, another brat to torture me," said Mr. D. I felt a flare of anger at this guy. Who did he think he was, anyways? I was reading to retaliate but I looked over at Mara and I saw her shake her head and Chiron just sighed, so I used all my willpower to keep my mouth shut.

"Come on Gretchen, we have an introduction film in another room," Mara said as she led me out of the room and into another. There was a projector on one side of the room and a blank wall on the other. There were beanbag chairs in between to sit on. I chose one in the middle and the film began.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! You are a demigod, who are half mortal and half god. Yes, the Greek gods are still alive today!" the film told me, flashing images across the screen. I won't go through the details, so here's the rundown:

The gods move with Western Civilization. They are now in America. Mount Olympus, home of the gods not the actual mountain, is now located above the Empire State Building, special elevator to the 600th floor. Chiron is a centaur, the one from the stories (not myths, stories). Mr. D is Dionysus, god of wine, but we have to call him Mr D, something about names are powerful. All the monsters from the stories still exist, after they're killed they reform in Tartarus. The demigods stay in cabins according to who they parent is, the god or goddess. Undetermined half-bloods stay in the Hermes cabin until they're claimed by their parent. Argus is in charge of security and has eyes all over his body.

"Alright, let's show you around," Mara said as she turned on the lights. We went back to my room I stayed in while I was injured. She grabbed my bag and handed it to me. We walked out of the house which she told me is the Big House. The hill where we got attacked by the hellhound is Half-Blood Hill and on top is Thalia's Pine. I saw a golden fleece shimmering in its branches and a huge dragon curled around it, which I somehow missed on my way in.

Mara told me the story of Thalia and how she saved her friends and toke her last stand on this hill. Also, how her dad, Zeus, toke pity on her and turned her into a tree. Also, how when her tree was poisoned and the Golden Fleece healed the tree and returned Thalia. She told me Thalia still visited sometimes, though she is one of Artemis' Hunters.

"What are Artemis' Hunters?" I asked.

"The Hunters of Artemis are a group of girls who pledge themselves to Artemis and refuse the company of men. They are eternal maidens, immortal unless they fall in battle or break they're oath, by falling in love," Mara told me. That didn't really sound like my thing, I mean refuse the company of men? I'll stay mortal thanks.

Mara showed me the volleyball courts, the arts and crafts building, the canoeing lake, the amphitheater, and the climbing wall. We went by the mess hall where we would have dinner later, and then got to the cabins. There were twelve in a large U and several more around the edges. Mara brought me to the Hermes cabin where I'd be staying until I got claimed.

"What if I don't get claimed?" I asked, worried.

"Don't worry, that doesn't happen anymore," Mara assured me.

"Wait, _anymore_?" I asked, curious and confused.

"Well, the Hermes cabin used to be crowded with unclaimed half-bloods, but then there was this huge war between the Titans and the gods. A lot of demigods went over to the Titan's side because they felt abandoned by their parent," she told me. "But then Percy Jackson, the one who killed the hellhound, basically saved the world so the gods granted him one wish. He wished for no more unclaimed half-bloods and more respect for the minor gods. So now the gods always claim their kids."

Wow. That guy, Percy Jackson, did all that? That's impressive, but he probably has a huge ego.

We got to the Hermes cabin and Mara knocked on the door. Two twin boys opened the door. They had elfish features and a mischievous glint in their eyes.

"Hi, I'm Connor," one boy said.

"And I'm Travis," said the other boy.

"Hi guys," said Mara. "This is Gretchen; she's going to stay in here for now."

"Hey Gretchen," said Travis. "Come on in, you can have this bed."

He led me to an empty bed on one side of the room, which I assumed was the girls' side. I laid down my stuff and Mara told me about all the cabins. Apparently some were always vacant but they had a cabin anyways otherwise the god or goddess would be offended.

Mara showed me the arena, the armory, the stables, where the kept pegasi, the strawberry fields, and the woods, which is stoked with monsters and is where we play capture the flag. She then brought me back to the Hermes cabin where I would wait until dinner. This summer is going to be interesting.


	7. No, it wasn't just a dream

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any of it's characters.**

Chapter 7: Gretchen's POV

A conch horn sounded and I jumped. Don't ask me how I knew it was a conch horn, it just sounded like one. The other people in my cabin started moving out the door so I followed them. We headed toward the mess hall for dinner. My cabin mates all sat down at one table, so I sat with them. It seemed all the cabins sat together, which isn't so bad for me, but I saw one boy sitting alone at a table and at another table just two boys sat. One I recognized as Percy Jackson, the other boy was huge and had one eye in the middle of his head. A Cyclops. I realized no one else seemed interested by this. Old news, I guess.

Chiron, in centaur form, stomped his hooves for attention and everyone settled down.

"Attention everyone! We have a new camper today, Gretchen Johanson. I know you will all make her feel welcome," there was a small bout of applause, and many stares which made me turn red. "In other news, capture the flag will take place this Friday! The Ares cabin currently holds the laurels. Now let's eat!"

People begin passing around plates of food and I dished up. There was barbeque, rolls, strawberries, and many more delicious foods. I was ready to dig in, when I noticed everyone getting up with their plates and moving towards a brazier.

"What's going on?" I asked one of the twins, Connor, I think.

"We scrape a portion of our meal into the brazier as an offering to the gods. They like the smell," Connor told me. Okay, I've heard and seen some weird things lately, but I couldn't see how all the burnt food could smell _good. _As we got to the front of the line, Connor scraped the butteriest roll into the flames and murmured "Hermes."

I picked my juiciest strawberry and scraped it into the fire and silently prayed for my father to claim me. As I turned to walk away, I caught a whiff of the burnt food, and it smelled amazing. Despite all the different foods, and the fact of it being burnt, it all smelled good together.

I sat down and began to eat. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I was dishing up seconds of everything. Dessert came around and I was stuffed. We were dismissed and we all crammed out of the mess hall. There was no campfire tonight, so I wanted to find Mara. I searched the crowds and finally found her talking to Percy Jackson. I walked up to her and heard a piece of their conversation.

"…saw it in a dream. I'm sure he's in trouble!" Mara was telling Percy.

"Uh, hi Mara," I said, feeling awkward for interrupting. She turned around and saw me.

"Oh hi Gretchen!" she said.

"Hey Gretchen, I'm Percy," said Percy.

"Yeah, I know. You, like, saved the world," I said. He chuckled, looking a little embarrassed.

"I suppose you could say that. It wasn't as big as everyone makes it out to be," he said, smiling. So maybe he didn't have such a huge ego. Maybe.

"Hey Mara, remember when we met and you knew my name and you said you saw me in a dream?" I asked, reminded of the experience by what I heard her saying to Percy. Percy cocked an eyebrow, like he was curious about it too. "And you said you'd explain later. Well it's later, can you explain now?"

"Okay, well demigods don't have normal dreams. They can be visions of the past, present, and even future," she explained. "And I had a dream about you not long before we met."

"What was it about?" I asked her.

"Oh, nothing. But that was how I knew your name," she said, cleverly avoiding my question.

"Oh, well I had a dream the night before I met you," I said. Then I told her about my strange dream with the boy in the throne room. I glanced at Mara's shirt and I suddenly remembered something else from my dream. "Oh yeah, and he was wearing that t-shirt."

Mara and Percy looked at each other like they knew something I didn't, and they didn't look happy about whatever they had just realized.


End file.
